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Antwan Lowery, down 26 pounds in two months, working to control weight as NFL Draft nears

Both the weight and the wait just have a little more ways to go for Antwan Lowery.

The 2012 First-Team All-Big East offensive guard’s focus in preparing for the 2014 NFL Draft has been dropping pounds at a rapid rate and putting an end to any speculation that his size – and perhaps a corresponding lack of discipline – might be red flags for a potential suitor.

“I’m not done losing weight, but this is a great start to getting down to a great weight,” said Lowery, whose target is 320-325 pounds. “My agent told me when he met with scouts that was one of the big things they were concerned about. I dedicated my time to it. I got down to a great weight. I got it in check. It won’t be an issue again.”

Lowery battled weight troubles throughout his five-year career at Rutgers. They coincided with losing his starting job and marred his 2011 season and they resurfaced last season, when he did not start a game on the heels of a breakout season that had him considering entering the 2013 NFL Draft.

“It just shows you never stop fighting for what you love,” Lowery said. “I’ve been through my ups and my downs but I’ve continued to stick with it. I’ve had good support. I just want to thank everybody that stuck with me and believed in me.”

Lowery is projected to go undrafted but Rutgers has a history of having rookie free agents beat the odds, from Gary Brackett to Jamaal Westerman to Tim Wright. He ran a 5.55 in the 40-yard dash, a 7.96 in the 3-cone drill and a 4.93 in the 20-yard shuttle, while skipping the 60-yard shuttle and 225-pound bench press.

“My numbers were good compared to some of the other guys I researched throughout the week that went to the (NFL Scouting) Combine,” Lowery said. “I looked at the top interior linemen that were in the same category as me before everything happened. I looked at their numbers to see where they stood and where I stood and everything was pretty much tit-for-tat.”

For Lowery, two experiences made a difference since the end of Rutgers’ season.

First, he realized scouts had an interest in him at the East-West Shrine Game.

“It felt like I could be a ballplayer. I came out here today and wanted to leave it all on the field and leave it in their hands,” Lowery said. “I played against a guy from the Pac (12) and the SEC when I was out there. Going against guys from different conferences really shows you where your game is at because sometimes they kind of underestimate us by being from the Big East or the AAC, but when you go out there and put your hands on a guy (you) show him it’s the same kind of ball.”

Second, he trained at Geared4Speed in Texas run by former NFL starter Melvin Bullitt and his father Jerry, a former Texas A & M star.

“It was a different kind of training,” he said. “The weight was just coming off week by week.”

Lowery had plans Wednesday night to celebrate his next step toward a potential NFL career with his brother Antonio, a former Rutgers star and a noted cook.

“I can actually get a home-cooked meal from him now that I got through everything and I weighed in pretty good,” he said. “Looking forward to having crab night.”

But Lowery, who said he has an individual workout scheduled April 11 with his hometown Miami Dolphins and is trying to get one with the Giants that same week, vowed crab night isn’t a sign of another swoon.

“I’ve got find a way to stay at it,” he said. “I got bigger when I stopped playing. That wasn’t an excuse. I should’ve maintained my weight. I got back to where I want to get to and it won’t be an issue again.”

About Ryan Dunleavy

Ryan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.

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